Considerable advancement has occurred in the last fifty years in electronic development and packaging. Integrated circuit density has and continues to increase at a significant rate. However by the 1980's, the increase in density in integrated circuitry was not being matched with a corresponding increase in density of the interconnecting circuitry external of circuitry formed within a chip. Many new packaging technologies have emerged. One specific technology is referred to as "multichip module" technology. This invention concerns the specific art area of multichip modules.
In many cases, multichip modules can be fabricated faster and more cheaply than by designing new substrate integrated circuitry. Multichip module technology is advantageous because of the density increase. With increased density comes equivalent improvements in signal propagation speed and overall device weight unmatched by other means. Current multichip module construction typically consists of a printed circuit board substrate to which a series of integrated circuit components are directly adhered.
There are further a number of distinct art areas associated with how a substrate adhered circuit of a multichip module is electrically externally connected to circuitry on the substrate. These art areas include wire bonding, tape automated bonding (TAB), flip-TAB and flip-chip. This invention is specific to the distinct art area of wire bonding associated with multichip modules.